Date and Time: Tuesday, 17 May 2022: 14:00 – 15:30 SAST
Leading the Session: Dr. Taskeen Adam, Associate Manager with Open Development & Education and a Senior Research Lead at EdTech Hub.
Session format: Decolonising Education Series – Workshop (1.5 hours)
Register to take part via Zoom
Description of the session: This 1.5 hour interactive workshop will look at approaches to designing justice-oriented MOOCs. Based on the premise that openness does not necessarily equate to justice, the concept of a justice-oriented MOOC is defined as a MOOC that seeks to address material, cultural-epistemic and political/geopolitical injustices in itself and in society. Drawing on the Dimensions of Human Injustice framework, the workshop posits three key take-ways that will lead to more justice-oriented design of MOOCs. These are unpacked through four decision-making spheres that MOOC design teams go through when embarking on a MOOC. The first sphere deals with the framing of MOOC production, highlighting the high-level decisions that are made at an institutional level. The second sphere involves the conceptualisation of the MOOC where the MOOC designers unpack the philosophical underpinnings, purpose, and envisioned target group. The third sphere involves situating the MOOC. This is where decisions are made that are external to the construction of the MOOC itself, relating to the contexts in which the MOOC will be placed. The last sphere is the actual construction of the MOOC, where power dynamics, pedagogical approaches, participation, content and assessment methods are brought together.
Presenter’s Bio: Dr. Taskeen is an Associate Manager with Open Development & Education and a Senior Research Lead at EdTech Hub. She specialises in topics such as tech-supported teacher professional development, virtual learning environments and open education. She completed her PhD on ‘Addressing Injustices through MOOCs: A study among peri-urban, marginalised South African youth’ at the University of Cambridge. Her research highlighted that historical injustices, cultural imposition, and economic dependence continue to play a pivotal role in education. Her MPhil thesis focused on the ‘Sustainable Implementation of the One Laptop per Child project in Rwanda’. Alongside her academic pursuits, she pioneered Khwela (a regional online course platform) and Solar Powered Learning in South Africa as well as Mobile Education for Smart Technology in India. Prior to her career shift to EdTech, she worked as an electrical engineer, specialising in measurement and control. Publications available here.Twitter handle: @TaskeenAdam @opendevedLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taskeen-adam-2027a150/ Website link: https://opendeved.net/
Resources: Adam, T. (2019). Digital neocolonialism and massive open online courses (MOOCs): Colonial pasts and neoliberal futures. Learning, Media and Technology, 44(3), 365–380. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2019.1640740 (Open Access: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/294422)
Adam, T. (2020). Open educational practices of MOOC designers: Embodiment and epistemic location. Distance Education, 41(2), 171–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2020.1757405 (Open Access: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341192901_Open_educational_practices_of_MOOC_designers_embodiment_and_epistemic_location)
Adam, T. (2020). Between Social Justice and Decolonisation: Exploring South African MOOC Designers’ Conceptualisations and Approaches to Addressing Injustices. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2020(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.5334/jime.557